‘‘I lie, I cheat, I steal’’
-Eddie Guerrero
There are very few cheaters and liars whom everyone loves and Eddie Gurrero is one of them.
As his quote says, the man was no different in the ring. He had done it all in whatever wrong ways possible and done it with charisma like no one else and the fact is, he made the wrong ways looked so much funny that fans had to do nothing but to love him all the way. To be loved by the fans as an evil guy in professional wrestling is a tremendous achievement and perhaps no one did it better than the “Latino Heat” did.
Eduardo Gory Guerrero Llanes better known as Eddie Guerrero was a Mexican-American professional wrestler and a member of Guerrero wrestling family. With the origin of Mexico, Eddie was born and brought up El Paso, Texas and later moved on to Mexico to join professional wrestling there. He followed the footsteps of his father and uncle as both of them were famous wrestlers in Mexico in the past. He started professional wrestling along with his cousin Chavo Guerrero. After trying luck in Mexico’s AAA, New Japan Pro-wrestling, ECW and WCW he finally settled in WWE in the year 2000. He debuted in as a part of the team named ‘The Radicalz’ to create a special mention for the Mexican Superstars in WWE for the first time.
Guerrero was a comic villain by nature from the very beginning and could be very nasty in times needed. His first outing was not successful though as it ended when he was arrested for driving drunk and WWE had immediately terminated his contract for his misbehavior.
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But WWE needed someone evil like him who can feud with the then babyfaces like Rey Mysterio, Edge, Chris Benoit etc because there is no better way to emphasize and establish the Golden Boys by making them face a greater villain and he came back and changed the business in his second spell in the McMohanland. He would always boast with the fact that he is cheating and he is proud of doing that and will continue to do that throughout his career with panache. He kept his promise and took his level into a height. His style, persona, attitude, lying on the top rope, the Frog splash and making an entry in the funniest way possible made every fan waiting for him in every live show. His entrance music ‘I lie, I cheat, I steal’ was like announcing his style to the world and matched with his persona so very much.
He always loved the most disgusting ways to cheat not only in the match but also outside the ring. For example while having an in-ring storyline and love affair with WWE diva Chyna he was caught bathing with two other women and he went saying that ‘two Mamacitas are better than one!’ These funny one-liners were his pendant lines and instead of hating him in the time of disgust we were often forced to laugh with the funny lines. This was his way to make people hate him and love him at the same time. No one in professional wrestling had done that before and he was a vigilante in that way.
The added factor was the support he got from the Mexican fan base from then on because Mexico had a huge support to WWE from its starting days, but there were no such Latino superstars whom they could blindly cheer for before him. He paved the way for the Latino Superstars like Rey Mysterio, Alberto Del Rio, Carlito etc. who represented the Mexican cultures thereafter. He was the reason who gave WWE a Mexican tradition to carry with.
To establish the Guerrero legacy in WWE, he went on piling championships which count to 10 and includes every significant title in WWE today.
1 time WWE champion (1st ever Mexican champion)
4-time tag team champion
2-time Intercontinental champion
1 time United States champion
2-time European champion
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In personal life, Guerrero was married to a very familiar name in WWE i.e. Vickie Guerrero and had two daughters. He had a two-year separation with her but managed to reconcile with her before his tragic death which till date is one of the most shocking incidents in wrestling history. On 13th November 2005 Eddie was found unconscious in his hotel room at the Marriot City center in Minneapolis, Minnesota by his nephew and fellow WWE star Chavo Guerrero. After some examination, he was pronounced dead by the doctors.
WWE storylines had to change immediately as a result and the Mexican torch was carried by Rey Mysterio after that. His presence was so much felt that WWE let Mysterio win the Royal Rumble and World championship Gold in Wrestlemania 22 in his honor and Mexican Legacy prevailed all the way.
He had a career which merely lasted over 6years but made the greatest impact as a Wrestler. An evil revolution mixed with a funny twist was created for the first time which is still a pendant of him in WWE. The master of the three Amigos did everything in style to change the business in the squared circle.
RIP, Eddie, your presence is still felt. Viva La Raja!
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